At this reminder, Li Susu’s thoughts were involuntarily pulled back to that night at the hotel, and her face flushed a deep, visible red.
She didn't dare look in Bo Junyi’s direction, keeping her head lowered as she fiddled with the car door handle, yet no matter how she tugged, it wouldn't open.
"The doors are locked."
The man, calmly putting on the shirt she had bought him, reminded her with a steady tone.
Li Susu let out an awkward "Oh." Catching a glimpse of him buttoning his shirt, the tension that had been coiled in her chest eased just a little.
"How much was it? I’ll transfer the money to you."
Bo Junyi fastened the final button. As his gaze fell upon Li Susu, he noticed her cheeks were incredibly flushed, with even her ears stained a soft pink. She was truly prone to shyness.
"Eh, don't worry about it. It didn’t cost much."
As she spoke, her gaze swept fleetingly over him. Seeing how the black shirt fit him perfectly, the corners of her lips curled into a faint arc. One had to admit, the heavens had favored him greatly; he possessed the handsome features of a movie star combined with the physique of a supermodel. He truly looked like a figure stepped right out of a painting. At the very least, in her life, she had never seen anyone so good-looking.
At that thought, she instinctively glanced at her still-flat stomach. She wondered if the two babies were boys or girls. Regardless of their gender, she hoped they would look like him and have his personality.
While she was lost in these stray thoughts, Bo Junyi reached out, signaling for her to hand him her phone.
Though she was strapped for cash, Li Susu still felt it improper to take his money. It was her fault that she had soiled his clothes in the first place, and his attire clearly looked expensive. The fact that he hadn't made her pay for the full price of the garment was already a mercy.
Li Susu shook her head, showing no intention of handing him her phone.
Bo Junyi had actually intended to transfer a few tens of thousands for her pocket money; the balance in his account was quite high, and she might not know how to use it. But seeing her so stubborn, he didn't press the issue. *Fine,* he thought, *I’ll give it to her when there’s another chance, so as not to burden her with guilt over ruining his shirt.*
Although he had changed, the shirt he had taken off was still in the car, leaving a faint, strange odor. Bo Junyi rolled up the stained white shirt, stuffed it into a bag, and opened the door, intending to throw it into a nearby trash bin.
Just as he was about to step out, Li Susu called out to him, her voice still small. "Mr. Bo, how about... I wash it for you? This shirt doesn't look cheap; it would be a pity to throw it away."
Bo Junyi’s movements stiffened.
In truth, the stains on the shirt were minor—it was mostly the scent that bothered him. By his habits, he would never have worn it a second time. But since the young woman had already spoken up, if he insisted on throwing it away, it would make it seem as though he were disgusted by her.
*Forget it,* he decided, *let her be. It’s just a shirt. There’s no need to affect her mood over such a small thing; it’s not good for the babies.*
He gave a faint "Mm" and tossed the clothes onto the back seat. At least he couldn't smell it anymore.
Li Susu’s lips curled upward unconsciously; in that instant, she felt the distance between them narrow. Spotting the price tag still hanging from the back of his neck, she hesitated before gently reminding him, "Mr. Bo, you haven't removed the tag yet."
Bo Junyi touched his neck. So he hadn't. He prepared to unbutton the shirt to take it off, but seeing this, Li Susu quickly said, "Let me help."
She immediately rummaged through her bag for a pair of folding scissors. Watching her open the shiny, sharp blades, Bo Junyi instinctively leaned away.
"Be careful."
Li Susu couldn't help but laugh. "Of course I'll be careful."
As the scissors reached into the collar, the skin on the back of his neck tightened visibly. Li Susu used her left hand to gently press down on the collar, feeling the firm, powerful body of a young man beneath the fabric.
Thinking of something, her cheeks suddenly flared red.
The moment the scissors closed, her fingertips accidentally brushed against the skin of his neck. In that split second, it was as if she had touched the veins of a sensitive plant; his entire body visibly stiffened.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"
Li Susu quickly withdrew her hand, her palms sweating against the scissors.
"No. I was just worried you might slip."
Bo Junyi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The lingering sensation remained on his neck—delicate, soft, and stirring up a hidden, heated tide. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down while inwardly cursing himself for being a brute, having such lewd thoughts about a girl so many years his junior.
The girl beside him remained oblivious, a bright smile spreading across her face, looking much more relaxed than before.
"Mr. Bo is actually quite humorous."
"Not really. Just a coward."
After a moment of silence, Li Susu smiled as she spoke, "It’s good to protect yourself. From now on, the two babies are counting on you."
Bo Junyi’s expression darkened slightly. As if struck by a thought, he said nothing more.
Because of the pregnancy, Li Susu had barely slept the previous night. Not long after the car pulled away, she drifted off into a hazy sleep. She had a nightmare: she dreamt that after her father squandered that million, he came to the school to corner her, using low-down tactics to sell her to an old man. She struggled desperately, and in the chaos, she miscarried. In a fit of madness, she stabbed the old man to death with scissors, was arrested by the police, and sentenced to life in prison...
She woke up with a start. Realizing it was only a dream, a sense of relief—like someone who had survived a catastrophe—washed over her. Thank goodness it was just a dream. Thank goodness she had met Mr. Bo and the kind, gentle Old Madam Bo. They had both been very good to her; although they did it all for the sake of the babies, she was already very content.
Yet, thinking that in a year’s time she would have to part ways with them and the babies, an indescribable sense of sorrow welled up in her heart. She turned her head to look at the man quietly driving beside her, unaware that she was watching him with tear-filled, tender eyes, as if looking at her own beloved.
Bo Junyi inadvertently met her inscrutable gaze, and a string in his heart felt as if it had been lightly brushed by a feather. With her staring at him like that, combined with the way she had him saved in her phone, he was certain: this girl liked him.
When he looked at Li Susu again at a red light, she was quietly looking out the window, seemingly lost in her own world. That affectionate gaze from just a moment ago felt like nothing more than his own illusion.
The familiar architecture passing by pulled Li Susu out of her chaotic thoughts. With two hundred meters left to the South Gate of Jiangcheng University, she said to Bo Junyi, "Mr. Bo, would you mind stopping at the intersection up ahead? I’ll walk the rest of the way."
Bo Junyi’s car was clearly a luxury vehicle worth millions, and she was afraid that if her classmates spotted her, there would be gossip. Since she had been confessed to by the Computer Science department’s "campus heartthrob," Zhou Huaixu, she had been ostracized by many of the girls in her class—especially Wu Nianke in her dorm, who had harbored a secret crush on Zhou Huaixu for a long time. Whenever Tang Yixin wasn't around, Wu Nianke would mock her, sometimes even bringing another girl from the dorm to bully her. The online rumors slandering her character had all been posted by Wu Nianke.
Wu Nianke’s father was a well-known wealthy businessman in Jiangcheng, and it was said that even the president of Jiangcheng University had to treat him with respect. Half a year ago, they had gotten into a fight, which was only resolved because Zhou Huaixu intervened. For the sake of her studies, she would try her best to endure it; as long as she held on for these two years and got her degree, she would leave Jiangcheng to build a life in another city.
Bo Junyi, of course, knew nothing of her troubles with her chaotic social life; he only thought about sparing her from walking such a long distance.
"I’ll drive directly in and find a secluded spot for you to get out," he said, not stopping at the intersection.
Anxiety stirred in Li Susu’s heart. She was pregnant now; if Wu Nianke reported her to the university president, accusing her of being a mistress or something similar, she would be expelled immediately.
"Mr. Bo, please, I beg you, don't drive into the school. I applied for a student loan, and I usually work part-time on campus to support myself. Many of my classmates know my family background is poor. If they see me in a luxury car, they’ll surely think I’m a kept woman—"
She spoke with a pleading tone, pouring her words out like beans from a canister, clearly desperate.
Bo Junyi’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. "Aren't you a kept woman?"
Li Susu turned to look at him, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. When the meaning dawned on her, those complex emotions were quickly drowned out by a sense of intense shame. She lowered her head and twisted her fingers, not knowing how to argue back.
She had traded her virginity for one million; if she used the child in her belly to earn that fifty million, how was that any different from being a kept woman?
In the silence, the school gates were left behind by the car. After driving another few hundred meters, Bo Junyi finally pulled over.
Sensing the low pressure radiating from him, Li Susu felt deeply depressed. *Sigh,* men were just so mercurial and impossible to fathom. She didn't know why he was angry, nor did she dare to ask.
Li Susu tried desperately to minimize her presence. She respectfully said "Thank you" to Bo Junyi and prepared to get out of the car.
The man in the driver’s seat suddenly called out to her, "Li Susu!"
"Hm?" She looked up, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes.
"If anyone bullies you at school, tell me whenever you want."
"Mm!"
Li Susu nodded, but the moment she turned to close the car door, she couldn't help it, and a tear fell.